Adolph Gottlieb

Gottlieb, Adolph, 1903–74, American painter, b. New York City. Gottlieb studied under John Sloan and Robert Henri. In the 1940s he created pictographs which were stylized, primitive symbols set in a gridlike pattern. His abstract dynamic canvases of the following decade (e.g., Frozen Sounds, Number One, 1951; Whitney Mus., New York City) placed him in the front ranks of abstract expressionism. Many of his later works, called bursts, display large fiery circles over a network of spiky lines.